


Soon the raging waters will crash upon the shore

by dearericbittle (dutchmoxie)



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Awkward Flirting, Connor Deserves Happiness, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 09:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14517588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dutchmoxie/pseuds/dearericbittle
Summary: Connor didn’t even know that 6 AM existed on a Saturday before today. He had a stupid job interview that Fucking Larry had set up, and of course his shower wasn't working. What's an aspiring teacher to do? Well, ask cute Biology Boy next door to use his shower, of course.





	Soon the raging waters will crash upon the shore

**Author's Note:**

> This fandom has been ridiculously kind to me, so there's more fic for all of you. 
> 
> Prompt: “sorry for knocking at your door at like 6 in the morning on a Saturday but i’ve got a job interview in less than an hour but you happen to be right next door and my shower is broken so could i please use yours i smell like death” au
> 
> If there's a prompt you want me to fill, message me @ dearericbittle.tumblr.com or shoot me a review!

Connor didn’t even know that 6 AM existed on a Saturday before today. 

Except maybe in those times he’d encountered the hour after a bender when he’d just finally managed to drag himself back to his apartment and into his warm, yet surprisingly lonely king size bed. But he’d never seen 6 AM from this side, from an early alarm because the world really fucking hated him. 

It usually did, but not like this. 

He’d never had a job interview scheduled on a Saturday before, let alone this early. Was this what being an actual adult was like? Because he really didn’t care for it. Not that he’d cared for high school much - college maybe had its moments, but now that he was almost finished with grad school and ready to go back to high school…

What the hell was he thinking, becoming a teacher? He’d hated every single one of his teachers, and now he was ready to become one of them? Clearly all the meds he’d been on over the years had killed the part of his brain that made smart (career) choices. 

It was too late to turn back now, especially since the fancy private school had scheduled his interview for 8 fucking AM on a Saturday morning. Probably just because they could - they knew there were a lot of people who could only dream of a position at that school. 

Connor was not one of them, but his stupid father had pulled some strings to get him the interview, and if he blew it off he was never going to hear the end of it. Larry Murphy did not forget, and he certainly did not forgive. 

So of course everything went to shit when he tried to take a shower. It sputtered and some ice-cold water trickled out. It was brown too. 

“Fuck,” he yelled, already tempted to break something. 

The water smelled like death, and now he pretty much did too. He was supposed to smell like roses, and scrub off the remnants of yesterday’s eyeliner and last week’s nail polish. Of course this happened right before his interview, and there was no way he could get dressed, book it to his sister’s place, shower, and still make it to his interview on time. 

Desperate times called for desperate measures. 

So he managed to wrap a clean towel around his waist, grabbing an extra one for his hair (what? Hair care was important!), and making his way into the hallway. He barely managed to grab his keys before he locked himself out again. 

His neighbor was probably going to hate him after this, but what else was he supposed to do? Just go to the interview like this? No fucking way. Connor would do a million favors for Biology Boy if he could just use his shower this one time. 

Even the knock on the door sounded loud at 6:17 AM on a Saturday morning. At least he was reasonably sure that Biology Boy wasn’t out until late trying to score chicks (Kleinman from 6B, however…). The guy was an occasional insomniac, but he was never very loud about anything he did in the middle of the night - and he never made Connor overhear things he could never unhear (fucking 6B, again). 

“Hi?” a very ruffled and half asleep Biology Boy opened the door. 

“I’m so sorry,” Connor started, trying to grease the wheels. “I know this must look weird, and I know it’s the asscrack of dawn right now. My shower broke and I need to leave for my interview in less than thirty minutes.”

He was still dripping a bit, his keys dangling from his left hand as he tried not to make too much of a mess of the hallway. The smell of the sludge that came from his shower was trying to stick to him, and he really hoped that wouldn’t scare off his neighbor. He seemed like the kind of guy who scared easily. 

“Oh,” Biology Boy was cute when he was flustered. 

There were pillow creases on his face, and his short hair was all over the place. His eyes were the oddest mix of completely alert and hazy with sleep. He was just wearing a dorky t-shirt (there was a cartoon bee on it) and plain blue boxers. 

“Could I use your shower?” Connor figured that things weren’t exactly making a lot of sense yet, so soon after waking up. “You can owe me one, whatever you want.”

Connor wouldn’t dare make that offer to Kleinman in 6B, because Kleinman lived to humiliate people. He’d tried it on Connor, who’d put a stop to it right away, because an offering of friendship was not supposed to come with embarrassment attached. Connor was sure that Biology Boy had not denied the offer easily, or at all. 

“Sure, okay, fine,” his neighbor stammered. “Don’t you need p-products? Like hair products? You have more, longer hair?”

When Connor came out to his dad, Larry had thought him being gay was a phase he’d grow out of. The instant attraction to his neighbor had proved Larry wrong yet again. 

Damn, this guy was really fucking cute. 

“You are my hero,” Connor proclaimed. “I’ll get my shit. Be right back.”

He ducked into his bathroom quickly, trying not to get upset over the smell and the state of his shower. That was going to be Future Connor’s problem - or more exactly, Future Landlord’s problem. Connor was not going to take any more of that man’s shit. 

Barely managing to hold on to his towel, he grabbed his fanciest products only for special occasions (treat yoself!) and almost ran back to his neighbor’s apartment. Connor was having some trouble hanging on to all of his things and also not flashing the cute neighbor, so of course he dropped his conditioner the second he set foot in Biology Boy’s apartment. 

“Shit,” he muttered, trying not to wake up the entire floor. 

“I’ll get it,” Biology Boy truly lived up to his heroic status. 

Connor tried really hard not to ogle him when he bent down to grab the conditioner bottle, but he was only human and only half awake. He probably wasn’t nearly as subtle as usual, but he also couldn’t find it in himself to care too much about that. 

“The bathroom is through here,” the cute neighbor pointed him into his bedroom. 

Huh. It was… almost comforting how warm and safe the room felt. The colors were a mix of blues and earth tones, and it exuded a calm that the boy who dreamt in it did not seem to share. 

“Now that I’m in your bedroom, I should probably introduce myself,” Connor quipped before opening the door to the bathroom. “I’m Connor.”

He would have held out his hand but his towel was already so precariously positioned that he couldn’t risk it. Sure, Biology Boy was staring at him a lot, everywhere from his messy hair to his bare chest to his wet feet - but that didn’t mean that flashing him wouldn’t be coming on too strong. 

This guy would probably need to be wooed. Connor could do that. Probably. He’d never tried, but he probably could, for this one. 

“Evan,” Biology Boy briefly looked him in the eye. “Evan Hansen. That is my name.”

Damn, that was really fucking cute. 

“Thanks Evan,” Connor ducked his head as he walked into the bathroom. “You are saving my life right now. I owe you a fuckton of favors.”

Evan actually blushed - it looked like it might be a full body blush too, and Connor just really wanted to find out how far down it went. 

Wow, he really needed to get his shit together before he left for that damn interview - getting distracted by Evan Hansen couldn’t be on the schedule right now. But maybe after the interview, when he’d gotten his own shower fixed and he was all alone in his apartment. That sounded like a good plan. 

“It’s really not a big deal,” Evan shrugged. 

“It is,” Connor disagreed. “Thank you Evan Wan Kenobi, you were my only hope.” 

Evan’s smile was just… unfair, really. 

“That’s,” he started to respond. “You’re… You probably need to hurry. You have that interview and it would be my fault if you were late.”

Right. Priorities, Connor. No flirting until after the interview. 

If he walked through Evan’s bedroom half-naked after his shower… Well, he hadn’t exactly brought his clothes along. It had nothing to do with wanting to show off a little, and wanting to see Evan blush a bit more. 

He did, though. 

* * *

 

“I need your help,” Evan Hansen stood in the doorway. 

Fucking finally! After the shower incident, Connor hadn’t had an excuse to see his cute neighbor again - other than the note he left Evan thanking him and reminding him of all the favors he could ask for. 

Looked like he was finally taking Connor up on that offer. 

“Anything,” Connor meant it too. 

“My mom is visiting tonight,” Evan seemed adorably embarrassed. “She’s… I love her, but… She worries about me a lot. She thinks I don’t eat enough. Do you - could you?” 

How bad is it that he now really wants to meet Evan’s mother? Sure, that would be skipping a few steps in the Woo Evan Hansen Plan, but it was too good of an opportunity to just let it go. 

“Anything,” Connor repeated, trying to help Evan get the question out.

“I don’t really cook,” Evan began to ramble. “But going out to a restaurant is really expensive and I don’t do well with ordering food because I’m super awkward and I don’t want to embarrass my mom or make her feel like I haven’t made progress since high school. I didn’t talk to people in high school and I didn’t have friends not that I have friends now because Jared doesn’t count. And I know you said that I could ask you anything but could you maybe help me cook dinner? If you don’t have plans you probably have plans but if you don’t maybe you could have dinner with me and my mother or is that too awkward? It probably is.”

Oh, he was so sure that this was going to end up being one of those fake dating scenarios that he’d fantasized about a couple of times. He was absolutely up to (pretend) date Evan, but meeting his mother sounded pretty good too. 

“I talk a lot sorry,” Evan was almost breathing hard. 

“I like it when you talk,” Connor was so gone for this boy. “I don’t have plans tonight - my sister is with her girlfriend. I can cook, and if you’re okay for me to meet your mother, that would be nice.”

Did he just imply to his crush that he only ever made plans with his sister? Because that was both kind of pathetic and really fucking accurate. Well, Alana was his friend too, but she and Zoe just came as a pair. Heck, he was the one who introduced them, but he didn’t rub that in all the time. Only once a week or so. 

“Thank you,” Evan smiled shyly and Connor was a goner all over again. 

“So, do you need me to pick up some groceries as well?” Connor tried to distract himself from his painful heart eyes. 

It didn’t matter that he’d heard some of Evan’s more awkward moments through the wall - it sounded like there had been a couple panic attacks this last week - and that Evan had undoubtedly overheard Connor yelling to Fucking Larry over the phone when his father had found out Connor hadn’t gotten the damn job. 

Connor was still pathetically into his neighbor. 

“I can’t make you pay for that,” Evan seemed almost offended. “You can just write down what you need, or maybe if you want… We could go together?”

There was a Grease reference Connor was desperately trying to hold back, and he mentally cursed Zoe for being so involved in their high school’s theatre program and her dragging Connor along all the damn time. What? Connor had standards when it came to theatre, and Grease was just… meh. 

“Sounds good,” Connor tried to remember how awful he looked, currently. 

Was he even dressed to leave the house? He’d been stupidly focused on sending in applications for normal schools, and that meant that he probably forgot to put on clothes again. Meaning that he was still in his damn pajamas, not that he was forcing Evan to ogle him half naked again. 

Sure, he was thirsty enough for it, but he hadn’t been expecting Evan. There had been a few dreams that had a similar scenario, but he was never going to admit to those. He still had some pride left - not a lot, but some. 

“I should put on something that isn’t sleepwear,” he pushed a lock of hair back, embarrassed. 

“It’s cute,” Evan blurted out. “I mean, it’s. Yeah, I said that, and I’m really sorry if I made things weird now just because I said you were cute. You can tell me to go away now it’s fine I don’t mind it’s my fault.” 

Shit, he had to say something like right this second before Evan got it into his cute head that Connor wasn’t completely fucking gone for him. But it had to be something good, like, smooth - he needed to make Evan think he was actually a bit of a catch instead of the mess that he was. 

“You’re clearly the cute one here,” Connor worried if that was the right thing to say. “So I’ll try to live up to your example.”

That was embarrassing, so he practically ran into his bedroom to change. Feelings of any kind were just The Worst. 

Ugh, he was clearly being soft Connor right now - that’s what Zoe called it when he was kind to people and didn’t Hulk out at them. It didn’t feel like him, showing just the good parts when there was so much damage hidden underneath the surface. 

The weather was nice - perhaps he could wear a t-shirt and let Evan draw his own conclusions. Braver people had run away after that sight. It became a test, or a deterrent when he wasn’t actually all that interested. 

It usually worked, but Evan hadn’t seem to notice or mind much when he saw Connor wearing nothing but a towel. But perhaps that was just because he was distracted by everything else that was on display. 

Connor looked at himself in the mirror and shrugged - yeah, the scars were obvious, and he couldn’t be bothered to do anything but a manbun, but it wasn’t all that bad. 

“I’m ready,” he stepped out the door, ready for rejection. 

“I like your shirt,” Evan is waiting for him. 

He hadn’t even looked at the shirt he’d pulled on, so he was surprised to find himself clad in his Next to Normal shirt. It seemed like the world was trying to tell him something. That maybe he wasn’t normal, but it was still okay. 

Evan didn’t seem to mind.

* * *

 

Disgustingly domestic was the name of the game. 

He’d never thought of grocery shopping as a particularly cute or romantic activity, but with Evan it was. It felt like a fucking date, with them talking about favorite foods (the topic of allowed pizza toppings got a particularly heated response from both of them) and weird things they used to like as kids. 

Evan was easy to talk to, and Connor found himself revealing more of himself than he’d intended to beforehand. They’d talked about their struggles with depression in the dairy aisle, and Connor understood why Evan picked the self-checkout station. 

“My dad is a dick,” Connor shrugged while chopping vegetables for the salad. “My parents got divorced when I was in my senior year of high school, and I haven’t seen him much since. He stopped trying to get to know me when I was ten. Hence the job interview for the fancy school I never wanted to work at - that’s Fucking Larry for you.” 

Larry only called when he needed Connor to play the dutiful son - so it was either three times a week or once every three months. There was rarely an inbetween. Cynthia at least called once a week, and tried to visit on every major holiday, and some of the minor ones.

Funny how Zoe ended up being his closest relative and friend - funny peculiar, not funny haha. They hated each other as teenagers. Well, mostly Connor was a total asshole who wasn’t getting the help he needed, and he took it out on his sister. 

“I haven’t seen my dad in fifteen years,” Evan ducked his head as he set the table to his exacting standards. “My mom is the only parent I need anyway.” 

Connor had heard a few stories about Heidi Hansen by now, and he was more than a little impressed. His mom hadn’t had to do much of the parenting alone, and she’d had fat alimony checks to pay for everything her children needed. There was no doubt that they could afford college, and they lived in a suburban mansion. His mother didn’t even have her first job until Zoe went off to college. 

“What time is she showing up?” Connor didn’t want to do the serious conversation bit anymore. 

Of course that was when the doorbell rang, because life was ridiculous like that. 

Evan decided the table was decent enough and headed for the door, while Connor stared at the food and pleaded with a higher power he didn’t believe in not to let him fuck this up. With his luck, he was going to offend Evan’s mother within the first five minutes and ruin any chance he had at getting a whatever with Evan. 

“It smells fantastic in here,” Evan’s mother sounded delighted. “Did you cook, honey?” 

Heidi Hansen sounded pretty young for someone who had a grown son, and when Connor got the chance to peek in her direction, he saw a blonde woman who couldn’t be older than her mid-forties. She looked a bit like Evan, in the way she smiled and her eyes crinkled, and how her presence warmed the entire apartment. 

“Oh, no, I didn’t,” Evan started, immediately stumbling over the words. “I asked - I mean, Connor is much - he did most of the, no all of the work.” 

Shit, was Evan embarrassed to have him over? Of course he was, because here was this random guy cooking for him and his mother. Heidi didn’t know him, and neither did Evan really. Fuck, he was intruding on private family moments. He should have just repaid the favor by making dinner and bailing out early. 

He should go back to his own apartment, listen to Next to Normal, and have his bad thoughts in private. 

“Connor?” Evan’s mother was clearly coming to some conclusions. 

“Hi, I’m Connor,” he tried his most charming smile - which really wasn’t saying anything. “I live next door. Evan saved my ass last week, so I’m helping him with dinner. I can just go back to my place. I’m sure you two need to catch up. ” 

_ Fuck, shit, fuck, damn, shit, fuck, balls, fuckballs.  _

Yeah, he definitely messed that up. He sounded like a fucking idiot - which pod person had suddenly replaced him? It had to have been a pod person, because Connor was never perfectly pleasant in front of parents. He barely even knew how to communicate with his own mother, and they’d had years of therapy to work on that. 

“You want to leave?” Evan turned to him, eyes wide, and Connor was fucked. 

“No, I mean,” this time Connor was the one who was stammering. “I don’t want to intrude any more than I already have.” 

Of course he didn’t want to leave Evan. Shit, the guy looked really hurt by Connor considering bailing on family dinner. Did that mean that Evan wanted him there and hadn’t just let him stick around to be polite? 

His stupid brain kept denying the possibility - he was fine earlier, but now all of the insecurities came swirling back into his head all at once. It was hard to fight back without showing how much he was struggling. 

“At least you’re not naked and wet this time,” Evan quipped, surprising everyone, most of all Evan himself. 

He turned bright red, his entire face flushing as he ducked his head to hide it. Heidi just raised her eyebrow and waited for the explanation, while Connor was trying really fucking hard not to think about other ways he could be naked and wet around Evan. 

“Shower,” Evan was hiding his face. “Connor’s shower broke down. He needed to… That was what was - he had a job interview - I just wanted. Fuck.” 

Was it wrong that Connor kind of enjoyed hearing Evan curse? It probably was, but he didn’t really want to be right anyway. 

“Connor, did you get the job?” Heidi seemed accustomed to carrying the conversation while her son got himself together again. 

“Nah,” Connor shrugged, trying not to sneak peeks at Evan. “It wasn’t my kind of school, but my father set up the interview, so... I have some more interviews next week. Hopefully with less ridiculously expensive schools.” 

There were a couple schools that seemed promising, so that was a good start. And if he got desperate, he could always stick with his dumb security job. The hours were shit, but the pay wasn’t completely awful. For a little while, until he got a real job, he could hold on. He’d gotten pretty good at holding on through the less than awesome parts. 

“So, you teach?” Heidi was smiling. 

“English lit,” Connor ducked his head, almost embarrassed to be this dorky guy who talked about his stupid passions all the time. “It’s kinda how I got through high school. Books.” 

_ Too personal, too personal!  _

Heidi didn’t bite, just eyed her son carefully as he finished setting the table again, this time actually bringing the food out. 

“That looks amazing,” Heidi complimented them both so sincerely that Connor was a little speechless. “It beats the hospital cafeteria food by a mile.” 

Connor wondered if this was the time for him to leave, so that Heidi could catch up with her son without a stranger present - he was sure she had some embarrassing things to ask her son that Evan would not want Connor to know about. Or was he meant to be a buffer so that Evan wouldn’t have to answer any of his mother’s awkward questions? 

But Evan had set three places at the table, with Connor and Evan next to each other - or was that last one Heidi’s fault? She’d cleverly chosen the opposite seat. Connor was more than a little impressed by her sly cunning. 

He didn’t know that this was just the first move. 

“Evan, marry him,” Heidi had barely digested the first bite of food. 

She sighed happily, pretending not to know how much she’d embarrassed her son. 

_ Well played, Heidi. Well played.  _

“Mom,” Evan’s face turned so red Connor got a little worried about him. “We haven’t even gone on a date yet.” 

Complete silence. 

“Yet?” Connor found himself saying. 

“I mean,” Evan’s eyes were wide and Connor knew that a stream of words was coming. “I would like to go on a date with you but I don’t know if you want that too and I know I’ve been staring and it’s probably really awkward when I do that because I don’t even know if you’re interested in me. Because why would you be when you’re really super hot and I’m just really not and you have a nice smile and you help me cook and I’m pathetically into you, so…” 

Evan trailed off and Connor didn’t care that Evan’s mother was right fucking there, he just had to kiss the guy. 

Connor was a bit taller, even when sitting down, so he had to lean down a bit, his hand on Evan’s cheek as he pressed their chapped lips together. Evan took a few seconds to realize what was happening, but then he started to kiss him back. Connor was happy that he was sitting down, because his knees were pathetically weak. 

When he pulled back, trying to keep things relatively chaste in front of Evan’s mother, Connor knew that he was smiling like an idiot. But so was Evan, so he didn’t even care. 

“Well now that that’s settled,” Heidi Hansen was grinning as well. “We shouldn’t let the food get cold. I promise to get out of your way as soon as I’m done.” 

Shit, Connor was going to get up at 6 AM on a Saturday more often if this was what it got him. 


End file.
